The situation with the Dream Asuras was quite tense. Very few understood what was going on, and even the likes of Rogryll and his fellow faction leaders were a bit confused. They had rushed into the Plane prepared for war, but what really happened had left them speechless.
The Lizard Demon Race had actually carved out a land for them, and they gained far more than they had originally hoped for when they first sent their negotiation partner forward. But it was exactly because of this that they felt that something was off. In fact, they had been on their guard this entire time, waiting for the other foot to drop.
Rogryll had chosen to take advantage of this though, quickly forming fortifications and bringing in a large amount of material from their Dream Mountain. Although their enemies might be planning something odd, this still benefitted them somewhat.
One of the difficulties of such an attack was that they'd have to always be on the offensive. Any layman general knew that it was far easier to defend than it was to attack, and that would constantly put them in a disadvantageous situation.
Now that they were given some break and could build up fortifications, they had entered a situation where they would at least have a place to retreat to if things went south. In the end, they could only hope that their own fortifications were better than whatever plan the Lizard Demon Race and the others had. Luckily, given their success with Dream Mountain, if there was one thing they were good at, it was setting up large scale defensive formations.
Of course, these formations were less great at defense, and much better at misdirection and confusing the mind. After all, they were Dream Asuras and the Dream Mountain got its namesake from elsewhere.
Even so, Rogryll couldn't help but feel suffocated, and even his wife, who had always respected his every word and action, had begun showing some signs of dissatisfaction. She had already avoided meeting her daughter so that she could put up a strong front with her husband, but in the end what had happened? Rather than forcing her daughter to retreat, their actions had actually pushed her further away.
Once the uproar began, and Ryu even appeared in the skies, they were distracted and didn't quite understand what was going on. The hours passed by as they stood on pins and needles, but then something completely unexpected happened.
Ryu suddenly appeared high in the skies, holding Mae in his arms and descending like a god from above.
Compared to the Ryu most of the Dream Asuras had seen, this one was on a completely different level. He was sharper, more overbearing, his aura so all encompassing that they almost forgot that he had yet to step into the Sky God Realm. Some even forgot to breathe for a moment as he descended down to the ground, cradling Mae before setting her down.
Why had he bothered to come here? In reality, he had already said that he would take Mae away after this matter and he had already fulfilled his end of the bargain. Though, he had to admit that it had gone far smoother than he originally thought it would.
His original intention was to have Mac take advantage of her Birth Right to boost her strength, then they could deal with the Clans of the Fifth Plane in one fell swoop. But that didn't end up being necessary because of Primus' appearance. He doubted that anyone would dare to touch the Dream Asuras any longer, just by proxy.
The real reason he had returned was because he knew that Mae didn't really want to separate from her family like this. In the past, he might have drawn that hard line and kept to his word, but he felt far more... adaptable now than he had in the past. His heart was lighter and he didn't feel the need to hold onto such a superficial sense of keeping one's word.
Gathana, Mae's mother, who had been standing by her husband suddenly felt that she was in a dream. Her eyes reddened and she rushed forward, embracing her daughter. Having children as an expert was extremely difficult, and Mae had been the result of countless years of trying. How could she be alright with simply losing her baby girl?
"I'm sorry, mom is sorry..."
Mae was caught off guard for a moment, but her eyes reddened soon as well, hugging her mother tightly. In her heart, she thanked Ryu once again, but she felt that between them such words didn't need to be said aloud. He could feel her emotions as clearly as day.
Ryu stood to the side and didn't say much. He had a light smile on his face as he looked up into the skies. Even though he had done this for Mae, that didn't mean he had to forgive himself. His pride was still the same, it was just more fluid than it had been in the past, and that made the weight on his shoulders seem lighter than it ever had been.
Rogryll's face was just as unemotional as usual, stone faced and etched by a chisel. He stood with his arms crossed, allowing the mother-daughter pair to reunite as they pleased.
Ryu suddenly frowned and he looked up into the skies. There was nothing there, and the cloud dragon had even faded already. However, Ryu continued to look. He knew that something was coming.
Rogryll looked up many seconds later, suddenly realizing that Ryu had noticed before him. But then it happened.
The skies divided and it was as though a rotating cyclone of dark violet energy had taken root. And then... she descended.
Ryu had already seen the Ice Queen previously. She was truly one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. But compared to this woman, she could only be said to be wholly inferior. It wasn't just a raw beauty, but an elegance and a demeanor that couldn't be matched, a holy goddess unblemished by the world and indifferent to everything.
The moment she appeared, her gaze descended, landing on Mae who was still in her mother's embrace.
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